Device for managing an electric propulsion assembly of a vehicle

Abstract

Disclosed is a management device suitable for managing an electric propulsion assembly of a vehicle. The management device includes: a communication interface suitable for receiving an elevation profile for a predetermined route that the vehicle is intended to take; and a determination module configured to determine, based on the elevation profile, for each of one or more points of the route, a maximum electric power that the electrical energy storage device is configured to supply to the motor at the corresponding point. The management device is further configured to interact with the electric propulsion assembly such that, for each point of the route for which the maximum electric power is determined, the electric power actually supplied by the electrical energy storage device to the motor is less than the corresponding maximum electric power.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A management device configured to manage an electric propulsion assembly of a vehicle, the electric propulsion assembly including an electrical energy storage device and a motor configured to propel the vehicle entirely or partially using electrical energy stored in the electrical energy storage device, the management device comprising:
 a communication interface configured to receive an elevation profile of a predetermined route that the vehicle is intended to take; 
 one or more processors configured to divide the route into a plurality of segments based on the elevation profile and configured to determine, based on said elevation profile, for each of the segments of said route, a maximum electric power that the electrical energy storage device is configured to supply to the motor to the corresponding segment, each of the segments being associated with the maximum electric power, 
 wherein the management device is configured to interact with the electric propulsion assembly such that, for each of the segments of the route, the electric power actually supplied by the electrical energy storage device to the motor is less than the corresponding maximum electric power, and 
 in order to determine the maximum electric power for one or more of the segments of the route, the one or more processors is configured to
 determine, for each of the segments and from the elevation profile, a type of segment from one of: a climbing segment, a descending segment, and a flat segment, 
 define, for the route, an energy budget determined according to the electrical energy storage device, and define, for each of the segments, a portion of the energy budget, 
 when the value of a combination of: (i) terms respectively associated with one of the segments, each of the terms corresponding to a product of the energy budget portion for the respective segment, and (ii) a factor determined according to the determined type of the respective segment is greater than the energy budget, recalculate the value of said combination, for each of one or more iterations between each of which the energy budget portion for each of the segments is reduced by a predetermined value relative to the previous iteration, until the value of the combination is less than or equal to the energy budget, and 
 determine the maximum electric power of the one or more of the segments, based on the product of the energy budget portion and the factor determined for the respective segment that provided the value of the combination less than or equal to the energy budget. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The management device according to  claim 1 , wherein, for a specific segment of the plurality of segments, the associated maximum electric power is representative of the electrical energy available for the segment, the management device being configured to interact with the electric propulsion assembly such that the electrical energy actually supplied to the motor in a segment by the electrical energy storage device is greater than or equal to a predetermined fraction of the electrical energy available for the segment. 
     
     
       3. The management device according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors is configured to determine the maximum electric power of at least one of the segments based on the ratio between: an electrical energy corresponding to the product of the energy budget portion and the factor chosen for the respective segment providing the value of the combination less than or equal to the energy budget, and an estimate of a time needed for the vehicle to travel all or part of the respective segment. 
     
     
       4. The management device according to  claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors is configured to determine the estimate from at least one vehicle speed information item provided by a positioning module comprised in the management device or with which the management device is configured to communicate via the communication interface. 
     
     
       5. The management device according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors is configured to select the factor for a climbing or descending segment from at least two distinct values corresponding to different respective levels of elevation changes. 
     
     
       6. The management device according to  claim 1 , wherein the type of the respective segment is determined based on the difference between the altitude of a starting point of the respective segment and the altitude of an end point of the respective segment. 
     
     
       7. The management device according to  claim 1 , wherein the determination module is configured to divide the route into the segments that have respective monotonic elevation profiles. 
     
     
       8. The management device according to  claim 1 , wherein the energy budget portions respectively associated with the respective segments are identical between segments. 
     
     
       9. The management device according to  claim 1 , wherein the energy budget portion associated with the respective segment is determined from a length of the respective segment relative to a length of the route. 
     
     
       10. The management device according to  claim 1 , further comprising a memory configured to store, for said route, the determined maximum electric powers, the one or more processors being configured to reuse all or part of the maximum electric powers contained in the memory for one or more of the segments of said route for a subsequent trip by the vehicle on said route. 
     
     
       11. The management device according to  claim 1 , wherein said management device is integrated with a portable electronic device. 
     
     
       12. A method for managing an electric propulsion assembly of a vehicle, the electric propulsion assembly including an electrical energy storage device and a motor configured to propel said vehicle entirely or partially using electrical energy stored in the electrical energy storage device, the method being implemented by a computer, the method comprising:
 receiving an elevation profile for a predetermined route that the vehicle is intended to follow; 
 dividing the route into a plurality of segments based on the elevation profile; 
 determining, based on said elevation profile, for each of the segments of said route, a maximum electric power that the electrical energy storage device is configured to supply to the motor to the associated segment; 
 interacting with the electric propulsion assembly such that, for each of the segments of the route, the electric power actually supplied by the electrical energy storage device to the motor is less than the corresponding maximum electric power; and 
 in order to determine the maximum electric power for one or more of the segments of the route,
 determining, for each of the segments and from the elevation profile, a type of segment from one of: a climbing segment, a descending segment, and a flat segment; 
 defining, for the route, an energy budget determined according to the electrical energy storage device, and defining, for each of the segments, a portion of the energy budget; 
 when the value of a combination of: (i) terms respectively associated with one of the segments, each of the terms corresponding to a product of the energy budget portion for the respective segment, and (ii) a factor determined according to the determined type of the respective segment is greater than the energy budget, recalculating the value of said combination, for each of one or more iterations between each of which the energy budget portion for each of the segments is reduced by a predetermined value relative to the previous iteration, until the value of the combination is less than or equal to the energy budget; and 
 determining the maximum electric power of the one or more of the segments, based on the product of the energy budget portion and the factor determined for the respective segment that provided the value of the combination less than or equal to the energy budget. 
 
 
     
     
       13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium on which is stored a computer program comprising instructions for implementing the method according to  claim 12 , when the program is executed by a processor. 
     
     
       14. The management device according to  claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors is configured to select the factor for a climbing or descending segment from at least two distinct values corresponding to different respective levels of elevation changes. 
     
     
       15. The management device according to  claim 4 , wherein the one or more processors is configured to select the factor for a climbing or descending segment from at least two distinct values corresponding to different respective levels of elevation changes. 
     
     
       16. The management device according to  claim 3 , wherein the type of the respective segment is determined based on the difference between the altitude of a starting point of the respective segment and the altitude of an end point of the respective segment. 
     
     
       17. The management device according to  claim 4 , wherein the type of the respective segment is determined based on the difference between the altitude of a starting point of the respective segment and the altitude of an end point of the respective segment. 
     
     
       18. The management device according to  claim 5 , wherein the type of the respective segment is determined based on the difference between the altitude of a starting point of the respective segment and the altitude of an end point of the respective segment.